Deputy Prime Minister's assistant detained in Covid-19 test kit scam

Nguyen Van Trinh, assistant to a Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly influencing the Ministry of Health in granting a circulation permit to Viet A Company's Covid-19 test kits.

Trinh was arrested for further investigation into "his alleged abuse of positions and power while performing his duty," the Ministry of Public Security stated in a release.

He allegedly "influenced agencies and individuals at the Ministry of Health to help Viet A Company's test kits obtain a registration number for market circulation against the law." This helped Viet A sell test kits in agencies and localities across the country, causing especially serious damage to the state assets.

Trinh is an assistant to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.

In the past 11 months, since violations at Viet A Company were first exposed, the Ministry of Public Security's investigative agency and the police in many localities have placed about 100 people under investigation.

Of these, three are former Party Central Committee members, namely former Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long, former Hanoi Mayor Chu Ngoc Anh, and former Secretary of Hai Duong's Party Committee Pham Xuan Thang.

The Viet A case has been under the Central Steering Committee on Anti-corruption's supervision and direction. The scam is considered a typical example of "systemic corruption" due to its scale, occurring at both central and local entities.

Lieutenant General To An Xo, chief of staff and spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security, told a government meeting in June that Viet A earned up to VND4,000 billion ($172.47 million) illicitly, of which VND800 billion was spent on bribes.